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What Does Your Accent Say About Who You Are?

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What Does Your Accent Say About Who You Are?

What about slang? Do you use slang that is specific to your school or community?

In “How Does a New Yawker Tawk?,” Jon Caramanica writes about the #BestNYAccent challenge on Instagram and features videos compiled by Noah Throop and Shane O’Neill:

What we think of as the distinctive New York accent is really a pool of accents, a stew that draws liberally from various communities: Italian, Jewish, Jamaican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Irish and many more. Slang might come from Yiddish, or it might come from hip-hop.

But what was most striking watching the videos en masse — from every borough, from children and senior citizens, from dozens of ethnic and racial backgrounds — was just how much of what we think of as the New York accent is not about sonic specifics at all.

The New York accent, as it were, is both music and ideology, instantly recognizable as sound and almost physically palpable, too. It’s about the delivery, usually offered by someone leaning in to the conversation, some combination of excitement and bristly attitude. Sometimes it’s about the liberal sprinkling of sounds and catchphrases, the salt and pepper on a conversation that actually becomes the dominant flavor. Sometimes it’s the fluent cursing.

Mr. Caramanica shares some background about the contest:

The #BestNYAccent challenge was initiated by Nicolas Heller, a director of short films and a sort of unofficial liaison to New York City’s ample pool of eccentrics. In January, he posted on Instagram a list of the 100 best New York accents of all time, a mix of the legitimately famous and around-the-way favorites: Nas, Rhea Perlman, Cardi B, Luis Guzmán and so on. While recently sidelined with Covid-19-like symptoms, Heller decided to turn his preoccupation with the sound of New York into a social media challenge.

The contest received several hundred submissions and was viewed hundreds of thousands of times. Celebrities, trapped at home like everyone else, tapped in: Debi Mazar, Chazz Palminteri, The Kid Mero, Kathrine Narducci, John Joseph from the Cro-Mags and more. (No Rosie Perez, sadly.) Notionally, there was a winner: Charlie da Wolf, a foulmouthed septuagenarian from Williamsburg. But the robustness of the entries as a whole was revivifying.

The article continues:

It would be impolitic to say that the New York accent is the signature American accent. You could argue, though, that the New York accent is the accent of the current crisis. It’s there in the burly roundness of the words coming out of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s mouth, or the acidity in the tone of Dr. Anthony Fauci, or the way President Trump scrapes all of his syllables together. (Senator Bernie Sanders’s howling woof counts here, too.)

For New Yorkers, that’s made the conversation around the coronavirus feel as local as the pandemic’s actual impact. Watching the news can feel like watching quarrels between grouchy neighbors.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

  • Do you think you have an accent? Do other people think you do?

  • How does your accent use tone, rhythm, tempo, slang and language? How much is your accent connected to your identity? Do you ever shift your accent, or way of speaking, based on who you are talking to or the setting you are in? What determines how much of yourself you show through your accent?

  • What regional expressions do you use when speaking? Do you think your way of expressing joy, anger or frustration is unique to the part of the country or world you come from? How does that show up in the way you speak?

  • This article focuses on pride about having an accent, but sometimes people are made fun of or discriminated against for having an accent. How have you seen accents honored and revered? Have you also seen accents mimicked or used to make fun of someone? Do you think it is OK for someone to mimic someone else’s accent?

  • In 2013, Josh Katz and Wilson Andrews created the “How Y’all, Youse and You Guys Talk” quiz, which produces a dialect map based on a participant’s responses. If you have the time, answer the 25 questions and examine the dialect map generated for you. How accurate is your dialect map to where you live, where you grew up and where your family comes from? Are you able to trace the influences that show why you speak the way you do?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Protesting

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Protesting

What is this image saying? How does it relate to or comment on society or current events? What is your opinion of its message?

Word + Quiz: flak

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Word + Quiz: flak

1. artillery designed to shoot upward at airplanes

2. a slick spokesperson who can turn any criticism to the advantage of their employer

3. intense adverse criticism

_________

The word flak has appeared in 49 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on April 14 in the Opinion essay “When Coronavirus Lockdowns Go Too Far” by Ross Douthat:

… The mayor of Louisville, Ky., earned a lot of well-deserved flak, and a slap-down in court, for trying to prevent churches from holding drive-in services — not something I’m quite sold on liturgically, but still a creatively adaptive way to achieve semi-normalcy on Sunday morning.

But some religious authorities, too, have acted with anti-adaptive zeal. In my own Catholicism, the diocese of Raleigh, N.C., didn’t just cancel Masses and close churches; it forbade its priests to attempt experiments like drive-through confessions that might make social distancing and the sacraments compatible.

_________

How Can You Tell a Story About Your Life Right Now Through a Few Simple Numbers?

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onlinefreecourse
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How Can You Tell a Story About Your Life Right Now Through a Few Simple Numbers?

Think about as many aspects of your daily life as you can — positive, negative and neutral — then try to tell the story in numbers, the way The Times does in “11 Numbers That Show How the Coronavirus Has Changed NYC.” Here are some examples:

New York City has never looked so unlike itself. Deserted streets and vacant stores. Essential workers taking to lonely subways. Mandatory face coverings.

But beyond the changes we can see outright are other lifestyle shifts that reflect the struggles and needs that have emerged within the last month.

Our altered city, by the numbers, is just as complex as the one we remember.

2,637%

Increase in unemployment claims

During the week of March 22, nearly 144,000 unemployment claims were made in New York City. That constituted a 2,637 percent increase from last year, when the same time frame yielded about 5,300 claims.

And there’s still many who have yet to file as the state’s system was overwhelmed.

7%

Decrease in trash collection in Manhattan

March data from the city’s Department of Sanitation shows the amount of refuse collected from Manhattan residences shrank by nearly 7 percent compared to the borough average for that month over the last five years.

The decrease is most likely a reflection of New Yorkers who had the means to relocate.

Greenwich Village, the Upper West Side and the Upper East Side, neighborhoods with some of the highest median incomes in the city, led the way with 11, 10 and 8 percent declines.

The rest of the city saw little change, although Staten Island logged the biggest increase, producing over 7 percent more refuse than usual.

3,000

Number of applications to foster dogs

Interest in fostering pets has surged in the city, as many New Yorkers find themselves looking for companionship and having more time at home to care for a pet.

Foster Dogs, a nonprofit that works with about 30 shelters and rescue organizations in the New York City area, fielded more than 3,000 applications for fostering in March. Traffic to its website increased 250 percent.

In comparison, Foster Dogs received an average of 140 applications a month in 2019.

“It was more interest than we’ve ever seen before,” said Sarah Brasky, who founded the organization.

42%

Increase in complaints about loud televisions

New Yorkers’ patience with noisy neighbors has run thin, particularly when it comes to blaring televisions, which prompted a 42 percent increase in 311 complaints in March compared to last year, according to NYC Open Data.

Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Instagram Challenges

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Instagram Challenges

For weeks, people have been recreating works of fine art using household items and posting their tableaus on social media, as the example above shows. You can see many more by scrolling through this related article.

But this is far from the only social media challenge going viral right now. With everyone stuck at home, creative competitions involving everything from push-ups to pineapples have taken off.

Which of these challenges have you been most entertained by? Have you taken part in any of them? Have they helped you cope with your boredom or anxiety? How?

How to set up a home office

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How to set up a home office

Following the global lockdown orders to halt the spread of COVID-19, millions of us are now working from home.

However, even before the coronavirus pandemic, working from home was on the rise across the world. The UK saw a 74% leap in homeworking between 2008 and 2018, taking total homeworker numbers to over 1.5 million. 

In the US, census data shows just under 10 million workers, accounting for 7% of the civilian workforce, had access to a “flexible workplace” in 2019. This is up on 5.2% in 2017. 

In Australia, the numbers are even higher. The 3.5 million workers who reported regularly working at home in 2016 accounted for 30% of the workforce. In 2001, the equivalent figure was 20%. 

The pandemic has sped up the pace of this change, with social distancing measures driving huge swathes of the workforce to home offices. With doubts over technical capabilities and productivity seemingly being dispelled, commentators speculate this many engender a long-term shift towards homeworking. (Those doubts may well have already been dispelled by a number of studies).

If this is to become a long-term state of affairs, due to shifted norms or continuing health imperatives, good home office setups will be key. 

Here are some easy tips you can follow to get your home office setup just right.

The ideal home office space is abundant in natural light, separate from your normal living space, comfortable, spacious, and tastefully decorated. If such a space exists in your home, then congratulations, you have the perfect home office space. 

More likely you will be forced to compromise on a couple of things. Many of us will also be looking for space for more than one person to work from home. There will be competition for prime home office real estate. 

Think about which aspects are most important to you, and where in your home you could possibly find them. Spare bedrooms and garages can be repurposed into home offices, if you’re lucky enough to have them. The latter may offer lighting and heating challenges, but a radiator and a “daylight” bulb can make it workable.

Perhaps those used to working remotely in public spaces will prefer to move around their homes with a laptop. For office workers used to remaining at a single workstation, however, it may be better to establish a set place. This can help you maintain work-life balance if you’re unaccustomed to working at home.

If you’re sharing, then assess your different working styles and requirements to find the best compromise. Qualities like quiet, light, or space are prized by some more than others in home offices.

If you’re tight on space, then think about how to set up a home office in corners of bedrooms, living rooms, and kitchens. It may be that you need to take turns with the best home office space. Or you could share – though be wary of the strain to which this could lead.

A key part of your home office setup is making sure that you invest in the necessary equipment. 

Start with office furniture – chiefly, a properly adjustable office chair. Sitting for long periods of the day without proper support can lead to discomfort or even injury. Equally, a work desk set up at a comfortable height should also be a priority. This can help provide a storage solution if your work requires physical equipment or hard copies.

In the US it has been estimated that 1 in 2 adults suffer from musculoskeletal conditions. In the UK, 6.9 million working days were lost due to musculoskeletal disorders over 2018/19. Inadequate office furniture will be responsible for a percentage of these. Don’t add to these statistics. Changing office chairs has been found to have an instant impact.

Remember to get up and move around. If all your meetings have shifted to Zoom or Skype, you may end up glued to your chair all day. Just getting up and stretching can be valuable. You could try a sit-stand desk setup if you like to work standing for parts of the day, though the jury is out on the benefits of these.

The other benefit of having office furniture is that it will allow you to separate work from home. Dining tables and sofas can remain areas of relaxation. 

A good desk setup will also help prevent unnecessary discomfort and help you to work at home effectively.

A laptop docking station is an affordable way to convert a smaller run-around laptop into an ergonomic everyday workstation. 

This will allow you to customise your desk setup to your liking. You can attach larger and multiple monitors to lessen eyestrain and work more efficiently. If your work involves a lot of typing, then a proper ergonomic keyboard may be a worthwhile investment. Working for long stretches at a laptop can be bad for your wrists and hands. Wrist support could also be a useful addition to your desk setup.

If you need to take or make a lot of calls, you could get a comfortable headset. Though with most modern phones and computers equipped with decent microphones and speakers, this is perhaps somewhat less necessary. That is, unless you need to share a workspace with someone (who also shares a home with you). 

If you’re going to be speaking to clients using video call apps, make sure your camera is up to the job. Good webcams are not hard to find if your laptop’s offering is lower spec.

With homeworking becoming more common, it may be that your workplace is willing to contribute to home office equipment. Certainly, you’ll be of more use to them at your well-setup desk, then in bed suffering from a bad back and RSI.

When thinking about how to set up a home office, remember that you’re going to spend eight hours a day there. Home office design is key to ensuring you have a pleasant place to work. 

Perhaps repainting an entire room to a more inspiring colour is a stretch – unless your home office becomes a long-term fixture. More realistically, you could put up some pictures, get some house plants, and arrange a few small desk decorations. 

As well as home office design, think about a few little things that could improve your day-to-day life. A coffee machine or a mini-fridge for drinks, perhaps. Or if you like to listen to music, a small speaker or good headphones. 

For inspiration, you can look at home office designs on places like Pinterest or Instagram. 

One particularly modern imperative of setting up a home office is ensuring compliance with data security protocols. If you are working in the EU or with EU nationals, then this will mean GDPR compliance. 

Hopefully, your employer will have given you some guidelines regarding the handling of personal data. If not, part of setting up your home office should be to have a conversation about this. If you are responsible for junior workers, make sure they are up to speed. 

Many employers already fall short of requirements. It is therefore doubly important to ensure we’re up to scratch when we find ourselves working at home. Read up on what you can legally store, in what form, and how for long. Maintaining good digital behaviour is more important than ever when it comes to staying on top of this.  

If you’re still working with sensitive paper documents, ensure you are able to keep them under lock and key. You may need to invest in a shredder. 

One of the arguments often raised in favour of working from home is that remote employees actually work more hours. One US survey set the figure at 1.4 extra days worked per month.

That may sound like a compelling argument in favour of working at home. In reality, however, it can have repercussions. A UK study carried out during the COVID-19 outbreak found that 50% of those now working at home were struggling to maintain a healthy work-life balance, with 48% reporting working longer or irregular hours.

It can be challenging enough when you work in the same place you live. When that place becomes where you spend your leisure time as well, the difficulties are exacerbated. 

Separating work and free time is very important. Put in place some house rules. Try to eat someplace where work devices are banned (at least during mealtimes). Don’t look at work emails outside of working hours unless strictly necessary. Perhaps while working at home you could un-sync work emails from mobile devices. Limit shoptalk to give yourself (and those with whom you live) a respite. Set a time to finish work, and shut down when it comes around. 

At the same time, minimise distractions while you’re ‘at’ work. Chores, Netflix, and snacks have derailed many a well-intentioned workday.

Try as far as possible to support work-life balance with your home office setup. If you can designate one specific part of your home as a workspace, leave it at the end of the workday. Don’t go back. If this is not possible, put equipment away, or cover it up. It might even help to change clothes when you get ‘home’ after work. 

Your office may be where you live, but you shouldn’t feel like you’re living in your office.

To learn more about healthy home working, explore Coventry University’s course on Work-Life Balance and the Impact of Remote Working.

 

Word + Quiz: chiasmus

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onlinefreecourse
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Word + Quiz: chiasmus

: inversion in the second of two parallel phrases

“No one has yet to begin a life who will not end it,” Mary Ruefle writes in “On Beginnings,” the first piece in her collected lectures, “Madness, Rack, and Honey.” It’s more of a lecture on endings, actually: “Not every poem is finished,” but an abandoned poem is not fully a poem, much as a life is not complete until it’s over.

…. The ostensible occasions of Ruefle’s poems are minor: not the funeral, but the bath. They record small moments with sweeping scope, moments in which the speed of thought seems to outpace real time. In the book’s title poem, an “I” and a “Mary” go bogging in rubber boots, among “orchids & mushrooms, mushrooms & orchids”:

There is in my house, she said, a stovelight

that never goes off. And in my car, I said,

there’s a dashlight that never goes off.

What warning has no end and ends without warning?

“Dunce” is full of these linguistic reversals — the chiasmus may be the device that best represents life’s reversal of fortune, our built-in obsolescence ….

How Much Do You Know About Austria?

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How Much Do You Know About Austria?

Can you find Austria on a map? What else do you know about this European nation with a population of nearly 9 million people?

What’s Going On in This Picture? | April 20, 2020

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What’s Going On in This Picture? | April 20, 2020

Students

1. After looking closely at the image above (or at the full-size image), think about these three questions:

2. Next, join the conversation by clicking on the comment button and posting in the box that opens on the right. (Students 13 and older are invited to comment, although teachers of younger students are welcome to post what their students have to say.)

3. After you have posted, try reading back to see what others have said, then respond to someone else by posting another comment. Use the “Reply” button or the @ symbol to address that student directly.

Each Monday, our collaborator, Visual Thinking Strategies, will facilitate a discussion from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern time by paraphrasing comments and linking to responses to help students’ understanding go deeper. You might use their responses as models for your own.

4. On Thursday afternoons, we will reveal at the bottom of this post more information about the photo. How does reading the caption and learning its back story help you see the image differently?

What Weaknesses and Strengths About Our World Are Being Exposed by This Pandemic?

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What Weaknesses and Strengths About Our World Are Being Exposed by This Pandemic?

For instance, what problems have you experienced or noticed among your family members, classmates, friends or community? What does your experience of the coronavirus crisis show you about what is lacking in our society?

But also consider the positive things you have observed: What has the past month or two shown you about strengths in the people you know or the institutions or organizations you count on?

Then, consider every aspect of our lives — food, shelter, art, entertainment, education, employment, economics, health care, politics and more — and think about what strengths and weaknesses you have observed or read about in those areas.

For instance, the links below examine numerous weaknesses in our global society that have been exposed by this pandemic:

However other pieces show us hope by illustrating strengths, opportunities or creative thinking:

Students, read one or several of these articles, then tell us:

  • What problems have affected you or someone you know personally? That is, what do you see among your own family, friends, classmates and neighbors that points to an issue our society needs to fix? Perhaps someone you know has lost his or her job or health insurance — or is still working but has to do so without adequate personal protective equipment. Maybe there are items you need and can’t buy, or classmates who can’t go online to do their work right now.

  • What evidence of our strengths — whether through personal, group or institutional generosity, resilience or creative thinking — have you experienced? For example, maybe your community has figured out ways to get food and supplies to elderly neighbors, or someone you know has set up a fund to help those in need, or your church or school has done something to reproduce in-person gatherings online in a way that has been comforting.

  • The pandemic has made many global, national and local societal problems worse. Which of these problems worry you most? What underlying issues, if any, did this crisis make you see more clearly?

  • In crises, there are often opportunities. What do you hope will come out of this that might begin to fix or address the issues in our society that worry you most?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

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